Big Box Stores
I went to staples to find lightbulbs. No lightbulbs. Fascinating. Every time I walk into a Staples or Home Depot, I am just amazed at this amount of space. I wonder what the turn is on every item, how much does each aisle make, and does that amount of space even make sense?
The Big-Box stores are ready for change. There needs to a massive roll-up. They are huge companies spitting out massive revenue, but I find it hard to believe that they are rocking the profits. Salespeople are just sitting around doing nothing even before the pandemic.
Inspire Brands is owned by Roark Capital. They purchased Dunkin’ Donuts moved it next door to most Baskin and Robbins that they also own. These stores aren’t going away, but I would imagine they are being rethought.
Like all businesses in the post-covid world, they need to rethink their business model to keep the value high or bounce around the private equity world of buying and selling like the demise of Toys R Us.
The future of retail is still very much up in the air.